


Fling or Ring?

by ACatWhoWrites, exohousewarming



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Family, Alternate Universe - Parents, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, M/M, Single Parents, single dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-16 01:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACatWhoWrites/pseuds/ACatWhoWrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/exohousewarming/pseuds/exohousewarming
Summary: Chanyeol's single and happy with it just being him and his daughter, but she's asking when he'll date again. He's just not sure when or if he's ready toseriouslydate again, although he does like Baekhyun and is charmed by his young son.He welcomes new friendships, at least, and if they grow into something more...he'll deal with it a day at a time.





	Fling or Ring?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 49.  
> This isn't as Dad as I'd've liked, but I tried. I also have a lot more of this AU planned; I'm really fond of it and find it a lot of fun.

Morning finds Chanyeol slouched over his kitchen island, stirring chocolate powder into his milk and thinking back to the days when beer was acceptable for breakfast, pajamas were day-long fashion, and he went to bed when others were just waking up.

Ah, youth.

His reverie is broken by something falling against his butt and groaning.

“Morning, Seulshine.” His daughter grunts and drives her face into his kidneys, trying to block out all light and sleep on her feet. “Careful, baby bear; that end’s loaded.”

“I don’t even care,” she whines. “Why does morning start so early?”

“So you can get things done before bedtime.”

She groans again, clinging to her dad and leaning with all her slight weight. “Let’s just push everything back a couple hours! School can start at brunch.”

“You’re never even had brunch.”

“See? This way I can. It’ll be a learning experience.”

“I’m all for it, princess, but I don’t want a visit from a truancy officer or child services, so get your butt in gear.” He rubs her shoulders sympathetically and blows bubbles in his chocolate milk. “You want pancakes?”

“Yeah.” Seulgi yawns and wipes the crust from her eyes on his shirt. Gross, but not the worst he’s had wiped on him. She shuffles back to her bedroom with her eyes closed.

After a breakfast of pancakes shaped like Rilakkuma—because every morning should start with something cute and chocolate—Seulgi brushes her teeth, slaps a hairbrush into Chanyeol’s hand and sits cross-legged between his knees on the sofa.

He has two hands full of hair and a mouthful of bobby pins when his daughter asks the question he's dreaded.

"Papa, when are you gonna date again?"

"Do you want me to?" He's actually been casually dating for a while—Kyungsoo, a singer he worked with, and then there's Jongin, their neighbour, but he's with Taemin, but they've kind of given hints to adding him, which is not something he's sure he could explain to a ten-year-old.

"I want you to be happy."

"I am happy, Princess. I have you!" He ties off a braid and nuzzles her cheek until she's mock gagging and trying to escape.

"Don't be gross!"

Back to seriousness. "Seriously, Seulgi, what brought this up?"

She shrugs, pulling the one completed braid over her shoulder and picking at the ends. "You're just always with me or at work. Don't you want to date someone again? Have your own fun or play with people your own age?"

"I think I'm doing pretty good, baby bear. I like where I am." He snaps a final hair tie in place. "There. Feel balanced?"

"Looks good. Thank you, Papa Bear." She kisses his cheek and gets to her feet. She's getting tall, Chanyeol notices. It seems like yesterday she could only hug his knees. Now, she easily hugs his waist. He wonders how big she'll be as an adult. Her mother is rather petite. Chanyeol is not, but the women in his family are.

"Ready for school?"

"I just need my lunch..." She opens the refrigerator, sighs—sounding exactly like her mother—and leaves it open while she retrieves a stool from the counter to stand on. "I swear, you do this on purpose. Not everyone is as tall as you!"

"I'm teaching you self-reliance." He forgot to move the lunchbox to the lower shelf. It’s cute to watch her struggle, though. He teased her mom the same way. His mom refuses to be teased anymore and just makes him get things from where she can’t reach.

Once she has her lunch and has put the stool back, Seulgi puts on her shoes and waits by the door like a puppy needing to be let out.

“Go pee, if you’re gonna dance like that.”

“You’re the one who asked if I was ready! I’m ready, so let’s go! I don’t wanna be late.”

“There’s time. You’ve gotta relax when you can, in life. Take it from me. I’m old; I know what I’m talking about.”

“You’re not even forty. You’re _barely_ old.” She lines up his shoes for him and sets out the laces to be grabbed and tied easily. She holds the elevator door for him and dances in place during the ride to the basement garage. They’ve never once been late, so Chanyeol doesn’t know where her uneasiness comes from, but he had years of rushed mornings due to the fear of being late for school. For him, though, he knew his mom would have his hide if he was late; Seulgi shouldn’t have that concern with her dad. He’s a cool dad who appreciates “we’re there when we get there.”

He opens the back door for her to climb into the car, shutting it once she’s all piled in and buckled. When she first started school, taking a school van to daycare and Kindergarten, Chanyeol had worried. Being a celebrity and single dad, he didn’t know how the public and press would respond to his child, but they’ve all respected his wishes to keep his private life private, for the most part. The older Seulgi gets, the more comfortable he is with sharing little things about his family and even introduced her formally at a movie premiere when she was seven.

Now, he enjoys showing her off as much as he can. There’s at least one fan cafe for their little family, and she even models with him, on occasion.

Driving to school is just one way of raising her in a relatively “normal” life. None of her friends’ parents are celebrities, although some are well-known in their respective fields. Not enough to be recognized walking the street or on TV. By dropping her off and picking her up from school, Chanyeol wants to express that he’s just another dad.

As expected, they arrive at school with plenty of time to spare. Seulgi unbuckles her seatbelt and scoots up to kiss Chanyeol’s cheek. “Thanks for the ride. Don’t forget I have practice tonight!”

“Of course. Have fun. Learn things. I love you.”

“Love you, too!” The car door slams, and she runs up the cement walk to a cluster of her friends who greet her with happy smiles and hugs.

It’s still sad, leaving her behind. If he had his way, Chanyeol would keep his daughter small and innocent forever. His baby. But then, he wants to see what kind of person she’ll grow up to be.

Once Seulgi and her friends enter the school building, Chanyeol pulls away from the curb and heads into the city, buying a coffee on the way to his studio.

He parks in the underground garage, smirking at the cluster of paparazzi and fans that seem to live on the sidewalk outside. The elevator takes him to the tenth floor, stopping only twice to take a pair of trainees to practice.

Kyungsoo is recording when Chanyeol ducks into the studio. He’s been working on the soundtrack to another drama he’s been filming. Chanyeol is helping compose songs and put them together, but the real surprise is Kim Jongdae, spinning in Chanyeol’s chair and smiling like a sneaky cat.

“You’re back!”

“I am back!” Jongdae gets to his feet and spreads his arms for Chanyeol to fully bask in his presence. “Miss me?”

“Of course.” Chanyeol wraps him in a tight hug. “I can’t even tell you how many times Seulgi asked when you’d be back. “She wants to show off her singing. Apparently, her dear father’s opinion doesn’t matter.”

“You think everything she does is amazing. I will be purely objective.”

“You’re just as bad as Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo grabs a water bottle from the corner of the desk, taking a break. “He was already whining about how he misses everything while on tour.”

Chanyeol scoffs and reclaims his chair. “It’s not like anyone’s forcing you to perform worldwide. You could be perfectly respected and loved right here.”

“I know,” Jongdae sighs. He perches on the edge of the desk. “But I can’t deprive the world of me. I’m not so cruel.”

“So you deprive my daughter of her favorite uncle.” Jongdae clutches his chest, wounded.

“Speaking of stupid uncles—”

“Favorite, Kyungsoo. I even enunciated,”

“—I’m watching my niece this week and will be bringing her along when she doesn’t have school, so please behave.” Kyungsoo’s brother and sister-in-law frequently travel for work. On holidays, their daughter, Hyanggi, goes with, but otherwise Kyungsoo babysits. She’s shy, so noisy uncles like Chanyeol and Jongdae can be overwhelming, sometimes.

“I’ll bring Seulgi, so Hyanggi has someone to play with.”

“How is your little cub? I only heard about her, like, three times a day through Snapchat.”

Chanyeol ignores the dig. He doesn’t post _that much_. “She’s very good, but she did ask me when I was going to start dating again, just this morning.” He looks at Kyungsoo, who stares at the toes of his sneakers. “She said she wants me ‘to be happy.’”

Jongdae whines at the cute. “She is too precious. She worries about you.”

“But I don’t want her to worry about that, you know? I just want to be her dad. Like, I have dated a bit—maybe not _recently_ , but still—”

Kyungsoo crushes his empty water bottle between his hands. “No matter what you say, she’s going to worry. She sees you taking care of her, but who’s taking care of you?”

“Well, if that’s a roundabout way of asking what I’m doing later—”

“Shut up, Chanyeol.”

Jongdae looks interested. “Is that still a thing?”

“It’s kinda a thing.” Chanyeol wobbles his hand back and forth.

“It’s not a thing,” Kyungsoo speaks over him firmly.

“That’s not what you were saying when we— _fuck!_ ”

While Chanyeol babies his sore foot and Jongdae snickers, Kyungsoo tosses his water bottle into the small recycle bin and returns to the recording room.

For the rest of the day, they focus on music. Seulgi is always in the back of Chanyeol’s mind; he considers her reaction to certain lyrics or a beat and takes notes on the side for them to play around with later. It has been a couple of weeks since he posted on his YouTube channel or Soundcloud. He’s due for some material for his fans, and they always like when he includes his daughter.

It has to wait, though, because as happily as Seulgi is, recalling her day on the drive home—glossing over how handsome Teacher Kim is, a “ _different kind_ of handsome” from her handsome dad, whose jokes are funnier—she’s exhausted. And Chanyeol’s exhausted. He hates getting old. They change into pajamas, order takeout, and watch a movie while Seulgi does her homework.

That’s their evening. Seulgi doesn’t bring up Chanyeol’s perceived lack of a lovelife again until later that week.

 

Usually, Chanyeol makes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert in his beloved kitchen, but when he has to scrounge for ingredients and get really creative with a menu, he knows it’s time to go shopping. Sometimes, he can convince his cleaning lady to stop at the store and pick up a few things, but he would never hand over his entire grocery list. That woman doesn’t deserve such punishment.

Saturday is their shopping day. Seulgi spends the night before picking out an outfit, because she has to wear her uniform every other day of the week. She wants to show off when she can and usually gives Chanyeol a heart attack by matching his outfit. He will miss this, when she gets older and decides he’s not cool enough to be publicly associated with.

For passing her Japanese exam, Chanyeol announces they have to celebrate with cake. The lady behind the bakery counter barely contains her smile within professionalism as she hands over the specially-wrapped treat.

Chanyeol thanks her, sets it neatly in their cart, and goes on his merry way. Seulgi holds onto the side of the shopping cart and looks over her shoulder thoughtfully.

"Would you date her?"

"Who?"

"The bakery lady. She was checking you out."

"She was?" When did Seulgi even learn what that meant? Since becoming a dad, Chanyeol has honestly not paid nearly as much attention as he used to to others' attention. He's gotten used to being seen with a three-day beard, uncombed hair, and backwards T-shirt as he races his kid to school or runs to a pharmacy for cold medicine or just can’t be arsed the morning after an event.

Seulgi shrugs and tugs at his sleeve to stop him at a display of apples. "She was really smiley and ignored me completely. She also stared at your butt when you left." That does sound like he was being checked out. Seulgi picks four apples carefully, eyeing them each critically for any bruises or discolouration before placing them all in a plastic bag beside the bunch of bananas Chanyeol grabs. "We were all talking about our parents at school,” she says casually. “A couple other kids have divorced parents; a couple have remarried, but my friend's mom is divorced and dates a whole bunch of men, and she says the sitter always brings beer and her boyfriend to the house."

Chanyeol gently catches her shoulder before she can move on to the next display. "Are you worried about that?" She shrugs, but he notices the spread of red over her cheeks and crouches, turning her towards him. The grocery store isn't really the place to talk about it, but he can't ignore it. "Princess, you are number one in my life. I love you, and even if I do try seeing people again, that won't ever change. You can tell me, if you're feeling uncomfortable or left out, okay? Just tell me. Just like this."

She sniffles and nods, wrapping her arms around his waist when he's standing again. Her face nuzzles into his belly, and he's pretty sure she's wiping snot on his shirt, but he'll never say no to a hug from his favorite.

“Alright, before we make everyone uncomfortable, let’s finish this list and get home for cake! You wanted chips—”

“Pringles!” That’s his girl. Food solves all problems and is an appropriate distraction to Feelings.

“Y’know, you’re gonna turn into a Pringle, if you eat so many. They’re more in the middle of the store, so find some cereal, first. It’s closer. Something with marshmallows.” Is it healthy? Maybe not the _healthiest_ , but it tastes good, and Seulgi has never complained about eating it. That’s a win. She’d gone through a very picky eating phase as a toddler. It was a nightmare Chanyeol wants to forget and avoid. “I will head on along to bread. We haven’t made French toast in a long while.”

He trusts her on her own in the store. He actually found out that sending her off with goals in mind prevented things from magically jumping off the shelves and falling into the cart, only to be found at the checkout counter. Sometimes, she’ll come back with something definitely not on the list Chanyeol’s typed up on his phone, and sometimes he won’t tell her to put it back.

"Papa..."

"Did you find it? Oh." His daughter is holding the hand of a round-cheeked toddler wearing a romper with a cartoon tiger on the front and clinging to a well-worn stuffed Corgi. "Man, things have really changed. I remember when cereal came in a box!"

"He was by himself.” She sets a cylinder of chips into the cart. “No one else was in the aisle."

Chanyeol crouches down; he knows his height either scares the snot out of little kids or makes them excited, seeing him as a living jungle gym. This boy doesn't seem shy, at least, and bows right away. "Hey, bud. You here with your mom?" The boy shakes his head. "Dad?" He nods. "Did he tell you to stay put?" He nods again. "Did you see something cool and want to check it out?" Another nod, a bit slower. His cheeks begin to redden, a sign of impending tears. "And your dad wasn't there when you came back, right?" More nodding, with fat tears welling in round eyes that Chanyeol quickly wipes away. "Hey hey hey. No tears; you're okay! We'll help you find your dad. What's your name?"

The boy mumbles around the Corgi paw in his mouth, "Tae Tae."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Chanyeol, and this is my daughter, Seulgi. Hold onto her hand, okay? We'll find your dad." He straightens with a smile. "He's probably scared, by himself right now, but we’ll find him."

The boy listens well and clings to Seulgi’s hand. They chat back and forth as they walk the aisles, and he suddenly stops, bolting ahead with such single-mindedness he nearly pulls Seulgi off his feet. At the end of the aisle, a harried-looking man bows to an employee. Tae Tae shrieks “Daddy!” and barrels into his legs.

“Taehyung!” They’re both pink-cheeked and almost in tears, but they’re happy tears, Chanyeol thinks. The man pulls his sleeve over his hand and wipes at the boy’s face. “I was worried, you know? Don’t wander off!”

Taehyung isn’t at all affected by the lecture and points to Chanyeol and Seulgi. “I met a tall hyung and nice noona!”

“Hey. I’m ‘tall hyung.’ Most people call me Park Chanyeol. This is my daughter, ‘nice noona’—I call her Seulgi—who found Taehyung wandering by himself.”

“Thank you for that. I’m Byun Baekhyun; this is my son, Taehyung, and his friend, Jimin. I’m watching him for his mom today.” He sets Taehyung back into his cart with another little boy, round-cheeked and shyly hiding behind his friend. “I didn’t know what to do when I turned around, and he wasn’t in the cart. I still had one, but the other was gone. They recently found out that they can lift the front part here and escape.”

“Oh, no.”

“My feeling exactly,” Baekhyun sighs. “I’m going to have to revert to carrying them in slings again.” Chanyeol feels his own back twinge at the thought, but a dad’s gotta do what a dad’s gotta do, and he says as much. Baekhyun just laughs and leans over his cart, petting his son’s hair. “I hope to break him of the whole escaping thing soon. He does the same thing at home, climbing out of bed during the night. Something else to work on.”

“It’ll get better. He’ll grow out of it. Mine did, anyway.” Seulgi used to climb out of her crib as a baby. All she wanted to do was lay on her bedroom rug, but the distance between the crib and floor as a lot for someone so small. Chanyeol’s just thankful she never fell, but he has flashbacks to those days when Seulgi’s swinging around monkey bars and jungle gyms at the park.

“Hopefully. I’d like to get a solid night’s sleep one of these days.”

“ _That_ may never happen.”

Baekhyun smiles, tired but pleasant. “Lovely. Thank you both, again. Now that my little monkey’s back, we gotta go. After this excitement, I sense an impending nap for them both.” Taehyung waves as they leave, and even Jimin timidly opens and closes his fist in a sort of wave.

Chanyeol’s proud of his Good Samaritan offspring and kisses the top of her head. “Atta girl, Baby Bear.”

“I’m just happy he’s with his dad again.” She leans into his side as they return to the cereal aisle for something with marshmallows in it. They finish their shopping without any more side quests.

 

Chanyeol takes Seulgi to the park most weekends, for _daddy-daughter bonding time_ , when they skate the frozen pond in winter or skateboard the paved paths and pet every dog they meet in summer and fall. September is ending; it’s still hot, but the leaves are changing and falling into near perfect circles beneath their trees.

Jongdae joins them the following Sunday, announcing that he’s done with tours until next year, and is going through photos on his phone to show Chanyeol when he spots Seulgi approaching with a toddler in tow.

“Your duckling has imprinted on another duckling,” he comments, and Chanyeol follows his gaze.

It’s the boy from the grocery store, looking stylish in overalls with one strap undone and a ball cap turned backwards.

“I could’ve sworn we returned that, Seulgi.”

“He says his dad is lost again.”

“ _Again_?” Chanyeol exaggerates and sits forward. “Geez, you need a leash for your dad!” Seulgi holds up a woven leash, attached to the boy’s backpack. “Figures he’d get loose in such a big place.”

“Tae Tae was hungry, ‘n Daddy said we’d get ice cream—” He takes a breath and sighs. “Then Daddy got lost.”

“There’s an ice cream truck at that west entrance, Yeol,” Jongdae says. “We can check there, first. Maybe his daddy’s scared and stayed put,” he adds, and Taehyung nods eagerly.

“Ice cream!”

Jongdae snorts. “I can tell he’s real torn up about this.” Seulgi runs ahead to catch the boy’s hand again, turning every now and then to be sure her own dad is still within sight. To humor her, Jongdae takes Chanyeol’s hand and salutes.

“This is the same kid who was lost in the store last week. I never want to assume anything about anyone, but…” He knows firsthand how difficult it is being a parent, but it isn’t _that hard_ keeping an eye on children. If nothing else, they can be physically held or legally leashed, but even that seems to have failed.

“Now, now, Chanyeol.” Jongdae pats his arm. It’s a simple gesture but very condescending. “Seriously, you don’t know what happened or how or why. Any number of things could’ve happened, and the kid looks really young. You’ve had at least six more years experience at child-wrangling.”

This is true. Chanyeol accepts that.

Soon, the tinkling, unmistakable tune that can only come from an ice cream truck or toddler’s toy chirps over the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. Seulgi leans down and points out a man off the path, and they start running together—Seulgi jogs while Taehyung’s little legs work double-time.

Baekhyun looks less exhausted than he did their first meeting, looking effortlessly put together with a simple T-shirt tucked into his jeans with rolled hems. He greets Chanyeol with a tired smile. “Hello, again.”

“Hi. We really need to stop meeting up like this. People will start to talk.” Exploiting our children so we can see each other. Scandalous.

“Thank you for finding him.” Baekhyun lifts his son into his arms, bouncing him to sit on his hip. “Again.”

“Thank Seulgi. She’s got a radar for this kid or something.”

“Well, Seulgi, I am grateful for that.”

“You’re welcome.” A bout of shyness makes Seulgi shuffle behind Jongdae a little. He ruffles her hair.

“Tell you what.” Chanyeol holds out his hand. “Let me have your phone, and if this happens again, I can text you right away. Save a bit of time and worry.” Jongdae looks at him with raised brows, lips more curled at the corners than usual. “It’s happened twice already, Dae. Don’t give me that look.” He puts in his number and texts himself. “And if you have some free time, we could meet up for a beer or something.”

“Is Papa usually this smooth?” Seulgi whispers. Jongdae shakes his head, thinking back fondly to the days Chanyeol would literally trip over himself to talk to someone when he didn’t just fidget and make heart eyes at someone.

Baekhyun keeps an arm firmly around his son’s knees, expertly checking his phone and replacing it in his back pocket. “Sounds good.”

“Daddy, did you buy ice cream?” Taehyung whispers loudly.

“No, I didn’t, because someone disappeared! Invisible boys don’t get ice cream.”

“Tae Tae’s not invisible! Tae Tae’s right here!”

Baekhyun frowns and looks over his shoulder. “Someone’s talking.”

“Daddy!” Taehyung tugs at his dad’s T-shirt. “Ice cream!”

“Why should disappearing boys get treats?”

“Cuz I’m sorry.” He kisses Baekhyun, and it’s a clear bribe and manipulation for ice cream, but it’d work on Chanyeol, too, so he can’t blame the other dad for consenting and excusing himself.

Walking back to where they had been sitting, Jongdae and Chanyeol lag behind Seulgi, content to walk and enjoy the clear weather. “So,” Jongdae begins, squinting at the remaining leaves filtering the sunlight. “He was cute.”

“Who, Taehyung?”

“Well, him, too, but I meant his dad.”

“Baekhyun?”

“Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun _is_ pretty cute. That casual getup he was wearing is something Chanyeol’s always admired. A simple style yet still kind of elegant. It helped that the jeans weren’t shapeless old things, because that man actually has some really nice thighs.

“You should ask him out.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s the normal thing to do after getting the number of someone you find attractive.”

“I think you’re putting words in my mouth, Jongdae. I have said none of this.”

“Then give me his number, and I’ll ask him out.”  
“No! You’re dating Liyin, anyway, aren’t you?” Ahead, Seulgi waves at them and points to the playground. Chanyeol nods and heads to an empty bench. A squirrel runs from beneath it and scurries up a nearby tree, tail twitching nervously.

“If she saw Baekhyun, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

“I am not sharing his number, and I am not asking him on a date. That offer for a beer was like a casual thing.”

“‘A beer _or something_ ’, you said,” Jongdae replies. “I know how your casual things go. Lots of something.”

“Lots of beer, too, usually.” On his part, anyway. Kyungsoo isn’t as much of a lightweight. Jongin is, so they end up a giggling mess most of the time. “To be perfectly honest, Dae, I’m not really looking for anything right now. It has been a while, even for a casual hookup, and I just don’t think I’m ready for anything more than that. I haven’t actually dated—seriously dated—anyone since I got divorced.”

“And that’s fine, but is that because of the divorce, because of Seulgi, or because of yourself?” Chanyeol’s always hated multiple choice questions. The closest answer is always D.

“A little bit of everything. Seulgi expects me to date again, I think, because her friends’ parents have, but they’ve had some really not happy stories. I don’t want to meet someone and have it end up like my marriage, choosing them or my daughter.” And as for himself, it’s not like he’s in his twenties anymore, and he is a single dad. Expectations and priorities have changed.

“Well, if you ever want to venture out again, hit me up to watch Seulgi. I’ve got the time, now.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

 

He does eventually call Baekhyun, but it’s not to report finding a missing child or to invite him for a beer. With fall comes flu, and Seulgi always catches it.  
Chanyeol’s standing outside his daughter’s bedroom, listening to her labored breathing. Even with a humidifier and Himalayan salt light, she’s still congested and breathing awkwardly and uncomfortable. He has a prescription for medicine that always knocks out her cold within a couple days, but he doesn’t like leaving her by herself. Jongdae’s at a music show, and Kyungsoo is filming. His own parents live out of town, and he doesn’t want to wait.

After hyping himself up, he taps Baekhyun’s name and bounces his leg while the ring tone drones. A couple rings later, a man yawns a greeting.

“Hi, this is Park Chanyeol. Are you busy? I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“I have a toddler,” Baekhyun sighs. “I don’t sleep, anymore.”

“Harsh. They grow out of that, eventually, although there are some days of having to confiscate flash lights and phones from sheets before bedtime— _anyway_ , could you do me a big favor?”

“...If I’m able to, sure.”

“Could you please come sit with my daughter for a bit? Just for an hour, tops; she’s sick, and I gotta go pick up a prescription, which only I can do, because healthcare and privacy and whatever, and I don’t want her to be by herself, even if she is sleeping.”

Baekhyun barely knows this man, but he knows the stress of being a father and a father of a sick child, so he agrees.

“Thank you so much! I’ll text you our address and access code, in case I can’t buzz you in right away.”

Chanyeol lives downtown, where no matter what condition it’s in, a house or apartment is _expensive_. Baekhyun only moved out again from his parents’ place within the last year and already feels overwhelmed with his very reasonable rent. Living among the upstanding and upstarts is like a dream.

There’s even a doorman at Chanyeol’s building, although Baekhyun thinks he’s part of security more than decoration. He glances at his ID and opens the door with a stoic face that breaks when Taehyung waves _bye-bye_.

Inside, a lot of money was spent to achieve a warm atmosphere with minimal furniture. The carpet actually feels spongy beneath his feet, and the elevator floor is polished marble to match the entrance. Taehyung entertains himself with making faces in the warped reflections of the polished steel.

Chanyeol is waiting when Baekhyun knocks on the door, ushering them in and giving a brief tour as he shoves his feet into his shoes and tucks his phone and keys into his pockets. “Thank you so much for this, really. I owe you. Help yourself to whatever in the kitchen. If she asks, I put some popsicles into the freezer for Seulgi this morning.”

After putting a jacket on properly that he’d initially put on inside-out, Chanyeol thanks him again and is out the door.

Taehyung sets off to explore, exclaiming loudly over discovering two cages set up in the spacious living room.

“Taehyung!” Baekhyun hisses. “Seulgi noona is sleeping.” The boy slaps his hands over his mouth and slowly waves his dad over, taking the quiet request physically.

“Lookit, Daddy. Lizards!”

“Whoa,” Baekhyun breathes. “You know what these are, Tae?” The boy shakes his head, eyes round. “ _Dragons._ ” Two bearded dragons bask in the heat of their lamp, posed and almost lifeless-looking. On a separate shelf, with spectacular view of the city, is a cage with a prickly little hedgehog napping in bundled-up fleece.

“A pricky pine!” Porcupine. Close enough. “Can I hold it?” There are actual stars in his eyes, and Baekhyun hates to crush the hope, but the last thing he wants is to explain to Chanyeol what happened to his pet.

“Maybe later, okay? You need to ask Chanyeol hyung, first.”

“Okay…” he whispers, reverently touching the cage.

“Look with your eyes, not your hands, Tae. I’m checking on Seulgi noona.”

“‘Kay.” Taehyung puts his hands in his pants—not having any pockets—but nudges some pillows around with his elbow.

Seulgi’s room is dark except from the pinkish orange glow from a dim lamp and the eery green stars on the ceiling. She coughs in her sleep and sniffles. Baekhyun grabs a tissue to sweep up the crumpled sheets that didn’t make it into the wastebasket.

“Papa?” she croaks.

“Your Papa’s getting you medicine. I’m Byun Baekhyun. Remember me?”

“Yeah… Is Tae here, too?”

“He is, but I don’t want you to share your sick right now. He’s out admiring your pets.”

She clears her throat of phlegm and blows her nose, dropping the tissue into the wastebasket Baekhyun nudges beneath her weakened arm. “He’d like Ferret.” Ferret is the ferret that lives in Seulgi’s room, in a cage on top of her desk. Baekhyun can’t see anything moving inside, but he takes her word for it.

“I’m sure he would, but what he’d like more is for you to get better—we’d all like that, so get some more sleep. If your dad’s not back by lunchtime, I’ll make you something.”

Her eyes are already closed. “Thank you.”

Hopefully, her dad returns sooner rather than later, because his kitchen is a huge chef’s kitchen. Baekhyun could stretch out on the island comfortably. He’s almost afraid to touch the fridge, but he convinces himself that a fridge is a fridge and finds milk for Taehyung. A glass is another search-and-find operation, but they’re stacked neatly in an upper cabinet just beside the sink, about where his own glasses and cups are kept at home.

Nosiness and curiosity take him on a tour of the apartment, looking into open rooms and getting a better idea of what kind of person Chanyeol is. Most notably, he’s messy. The living room and kitchen are clean and neat, but rooms that have doors are cluttered if not plain messy. What Baekhyun thinks is a home studio—he wonders what kind of music he makes—has a bicycle against the wall, although there’s a separate room with exercise equipment and a rack of skates, skateboards, and helmets.

Taehyung makes rounds between the animals and pressing his ear against Seulgi’s bedroom door. “Is noona gonna be okay?”

“She’ll be fine once her dad comes back with medicine. Maybe you can play together next time. She told me she even has another pet to show you.”

“Really?” He perks up and excitedly discusses what it could be with his tiger, because if there’s already a pricky pine and _dragons_ , it’s gotta be something amazing. Baekhyun thinks it’s too cute, so he doesn’t interrupt his son’s theories to tell him it’s just a weasel.

Baekhyun figures out the TV and lowers the volume on cartoons. Taehyung is entertained until his head starts bobbing; Baekhyun gently pulls him down to his lap and changes the channel to a variety program.

He must zone out, because the front door opening nearly rockets his heart out of his throat, and he doesn’t recognize where he is for a minute.

It’s about lunchtime, and Chanyeol is back, carrying a tiny paper pharmacy bag in one hang and a plastic bag filled with condensation in the other. “I come bearing drugs and soup for my child. Is she sleeping?”

Baekhyun sits on the sofa and acts as a pillow for Taehyung, dozing and hugging his stuffed tiger tight. “She woke up a little bit after you left, but she’s been out, otherwise.”

“Good.” He kicks off his shoes and pushes them aside with his foot, going right into Seulgi’s room.

He’s a great dad, Baekhyun thinks. Pretty much every mom he’s ever known has been incredible and strong and reliable, but the dads are kind of hit and miss. Circumstances can significantly change expectations and roles, but the really great dads kind of kick Baekhyun in the gut with admiration and jealousy.

Chanyeol finally sits and puts his feet onto the low coffee table. “She ate a bit, which is wonderful. That medicine should keep her asleep pretty much until tomorrow.” He scrubs at his eyes and groans. “Sometimes I hate being a parent. Any sickness, and I think my kid’s gonna die. I’ll never be as calm as my mom.”

Baekhyun knows the feeling. Taehyung got whooping cough last year, and Baekhyun doesn’t think he’d have survived without his mom’s help. “Even if she was calm, that was probably just so _you_ didn’t freak out. Kids are bad enough patients without seeing their parents’ stress.”

“True.”

Baekhyun half-smiles and plays with Taehyung’s hair. The boy snuffles sleepily and rolls onto his belly, drawing up his knees to lay in a kneeling position that hurts to look at. “I think the hardest thing about being a parent, aside from the stress of keeping them as healthy as possible,” which is a huge chore, when his toddler likes putting things in his mouth, “is child-proofing my apartment. It’s impossible.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol nods slowly. “They always find a way in.”

Baekhyun snorts. “That’s terrible.”

Chanyeol slouches until he’s more off the couch than on, willing his body to melt and become one with it. They stare out the window. One of the beardies snaps at a cricket; the refrigerator hums in the kitchen. “Remember that beer, “ _or something_ , “that I offered? What’re you up to this weekend?”

“My mother has actually taken it upon herself to steal my son from Friday night until Sunday. She thinks I need a break.” Experienced moms are angels.

“Want company?”

“Sure.” Neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol knows where this is going, but they’re willing to ride it out. Their kids like each other; they like each other; it’s all good for now.


End file.
